5 Unexpected Ways to Use Cranberries

Learn how to do more with your fresh cranberries.

This November, we’re going to show you how you can achieve great taste with fall's favorite tart fruit: cranberries. This content was created in partnership with Food52.

Looking for new ways to use cranberries this fall? Consider thinking outside the can with these five creative ideas for everything from snack time to dinner time.

1. Incorporate unexpected ingredients. Adding in some less common ingredients when you cook with cranberries can create something fun and unconventional. Cranberries and granola is a match made in heaven, but using olive oil makes the mix a little more distinctive and pleasantly savory. Geniuses Emily and Melissa Elsen of Four and Twenty Blackbirds change things up by adding sage to create a savory note in an otherwise plain cranberry pie.

2. Re-think your favorite treats.Refresh your sweets — like donuts and chocolate — with cranberries. These re-imagined jelly donuts and chocolate bark will change the way you think about both. Or, put cranberries in your apple pie. Stale crullers, store-bought candy bars and just another fall pie will no longer make the grade.

3. Use them to start your morning right. Granola and muffins have certainly had their share of cranberry’s love, but try making this muesli or a quick loaf. And if for some reason you’re not in the mood for cake for breakfast, try adding cranberries to overnight oats instead.

4. Liven up your drinks. Let cranberry juice — forever a childhood favorite — grow up. Put it in a Holiday Sparkler with Cava, mint, and triple sec for the perfect wintertime punch, or pair it with pomegranate juice and rosemary for a slightly tamer concoction.. If you want to go all out, garnish both with a candied cranberry to give them a smart holiday look.

5. Add them to your hearty roasts.You’d expect to see cranberries in your pies, but maybe not in your dinner. Next time you put a braise in the oven, add some cranberries — fresh or dried, the tart berries help to balance out all of the richness in a stewy, braised meat dish. They play especially well with slow-cooked turkey, and wine-y, savory lamb shanks.